Seven Years
by Ariel.611
Summary: It's been seven years since Erza vanished leaving Jellal to wander in a world without her light. What happens when he stumbles upon something unexpected in Magnolia's East Forest? Jerza One-Shot.


Seven years…. It had been seven years since the core of Fairy Tail including its master had vanished from the earth. Seven years since anyone had seen or heard from the legendary Erza Scarlet.

Jellal lowered his head as he walked through the East Forest of Magnolia with his two companions by his side. Though he knew it was pointless, the gaping hole in his chest felt a bit less raw whenever he traveled through Fairy Tail's back yard.

"Are you alright?" Ultear asked seeming to sense his discomfort.

"Yes." He replied. It was a lie. They all knew it, but he wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Not in the least. As they walked a tree caught his attention. "Wait." He said quickly to his companions.

"What's wrong?" Meredy asked her pink hair bouncing as she cocked her head to the side.

He ignored her question and moved quickly towards the undergrowth to the tree that had caught his eye. It was a tall, thick oak tree with long spindly branches. The trunk however was riddled with gashes as though it had been used for practice of some kind. He touched one of the wounds and quickly determined it had been made by a blade of some sort. He moved around the trunk of the tree and nearly tripped as his foot caught on a large rock that blended in almost perfectly with the ground and roots.

"Are you alright?" Ultear called out hearing his quiet grunt of pain.

"I'm just fine." He assured her as he knelt beside it, a glint of silver catching his eye. With a little effort he pushed the rock aside and found it was covering a small hole in the ground. Several note books, pens, and pieces of broken weaponry and armor were inside. His heart throbbed painfully as he picked up one of the notebooks. He had a sinking suspicion they belonged to someone he'd once known. With trembling fingers he opened the cover of the leather bound book. On the back of the cover in black ink were the words. _This Journal is Property of Erza Scarlet_. His hand unconsciously gripped the book tighter as he fell to his knees, his heart beating out of control. With infinite gentleness he opened to the first page and read the date. It was only weeks after he'd thrown her out of the tower.

 _'Dear Journal,_

 _I'm really not sure how to do this. I actually didn't want to but Porlyusica said it would help with my recovery. Gray said it might help to so here it goes. A lot has happened since I left the tower. I found the guild Grandpa had told me about and met the most obnoxious idiots Gray and Natsu. I think Mira might be worse though…_

Jellal raised an eyebrow at that even as his heart throbbed again. He'd never heard Erza speak of her take over mage guild mate in a negative way before. He continued to read smiling a little as she described her everyday life in the guild. Her however, ended in a way he hadn't expected.

 _I guess I forgot to mention. I got my Fairy Tail mark today. Master said that he thought I was finally ready. There were so many colors to choose from. I thought long and hard and decided to get it in blue in memory of him. After all, it was the color of his hair. Maybe one day he and I will meet again. That would be so wonderful._

The blue haired mage's eyes widened and then welled with tears as his own words from the day he'd given her the surname she carried now echoed in his mind. His memory conjuring up in explicit detail the feel of those scarlet strands between his fingers, the blush on her cheeks, her shy smile when she happily accepted. He leaned against the trunk of the tree, fully understanding that this had been her secret hideaway. The place where she had trained and leaned his head back to look at the leaves as the tears finally rolled down his cheeks.

"Erza." He whispered his voice cracking with emotion. "Once again I wasn't able to save you." He ground his teeth together as he fought back a sob. Though the pain had lessened over the years, being in this place where her magic seemed to linger in the air and the soil. Where he held tangible evidence of her existence in his hand it was too much. His heart felt like it was breaking all over again.

"Jellal?" Ultear said approaching him with cautions steps. Her eyes fell upon the book hanging from his semi-limp fingers and she immediately understood. "You know, there's still a chance-"

"It's been seven years Ultear." He said quickly cutting her off.

She flinched and lowered her head. "I'm sorry. If I'd known…"

"I know." He said raking a hand through his hair. "Maybe this is a fitting punishment for someone like me. To exist in a world without her." He hung his head. His two companions studied him their eyes full of guilt and pity. "I just… Once more. I wanted to see her smiling face one more time." He murmured.

He stood and slipped the journal into his cloak before covering the hole in the ground once more. "Let's go." He said shaking his head. "If we linger here too long, our presence will be noticed."

His guild mates nodded made their way through the forest. It was a sunny day, a perfect day for sailing. Jellal glanced in the direction of the sea wishing for what felt like the millionth time that Erza was still in the world. The world that felt like nothing but an empty shell. As they turned towards the path that would take them towards Crocus he felt something brush against his senses. A feeling that had been absent for almost seven years.

"Could it be?" he whispered reaching out with his senses but it had faded as quickly as it had arrived.

"Something wrong?" Ultear asked again.

"No. It was probably just my imagination." He replied.

Several days later, Jellal sat inside a cave his eyes scanning the map in front of him. The dark guild Devil's Eye was nearby and would likely be easy to defeat but making sure they could make a clean getaway was going to be tricky. His head raised from his work when Meredy burst in breathing hard, her cheeks flushed.

"What's wrong?" he asked taking in her flustered appearance.

"Jellal! Look at this!" she exclaimed rushing to his side and thrusting the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly in his face.

"What is it?" he asked wondering if another sighting of them had been reported in the magazine. His eyes widened as he read the bold headline. ' _After Seven Years of Searching Fairly Tail's Lost Mages Return'_ His hands trembled as he quickly opened the publication and skipped the article all together choosing to focus instead on the picture in the middle. Front and center of course was Natsu grinning from ear to ear with his arm slung around Lucy's neck who was beaming herself. Next to them was the woman who haunted his dreams both day and night. His speck of light in the abyss of darkness that was his existence. With shaking fingers he gently traced her features, those fierce mahogany eyes, her strong yet feminine figure covered by her signature armor and heeled boots and at last the scarlet tresses he'd never forget as long as he lived. She looked alive and well, like not a day had passed since her guild's S-Class trials.

"What's all the fuss about?" Ultear asked leaving the stew she was cooking to come investigate. She looked over the blue haired mage's shoulder and a gasp left her lips. "They found them?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes." Jellal said his voice cracking with emotion. "They're alive and well." He smiled. "It looks like she hasn't aged a day." He stood and stumbled from the cave and glanced up at the darkening sky at the stars he wielded in battle. "Erza. You're alive." He sank to his knees as tears of joy trailed down his cheeks. "You're alive." He repeated feeling the gaping hole in his chest fill with new hope. Once again he felt like he could take on this world, take on the dark wizard himself and make up for the atrocities he'd committed. It was amazing how just the knowledge that she was alive, somewhere breathing under the same stars could make him feel like a new man. He turned as Ultear walked up and touched him on the shoulder.

"This time. Don't let her go." She said with a smile.

He smiled back, his first real smile in years as he stood. "No need to worry." He assured her. "I wouldn't be able to survive losing her a third time."

"I'm glad to hear it." The time wizard replied. "Now, we have work to do."

"Indeed." He agreed.

Erza frowned as she looked down at the hole where she'd kept her childhood memories. Everything was intact except for her journal. It had been more than seven years since she'd visited the place, but she never imagined that anyone would actually find her hiding place let alone take anything from it. Just as she was about to move the rock back into place, something blue caught her eye. She reached down and picked up a single hair just a few shades darker than the sky above. Her eyes widened and the softened a tender smile touching her lips. "Jellal."


End file.
